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Celebrities aiding Africa

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MIA FARROW: The US Envoy to Sudan, Mia Farrow addresses the genocide and refugee situation in the nation. Here, Farrow who is also a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, speaks with a group of Karimojong children near Kitodo, Uganda, on July 15 during her tour of the country. Marc Hofer/AP

MADONNA: Madonna started the Raising Malawi organization to bring an end to the extreme poverty and hardship faced by the 2,000,000 Malawi orphans and vulnerable children. Raising Malawi seeks to provide children with food, clothing, secure shelter, education, and medical care. Here, Madonna breaks ground at the site of the Raising Malawi Academy for Girls in October 2009. Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi/AP

BONO: Through his organization ONE, U2's frontman Bono works to help fight "poverty and preventable diseases, particularly in Africa." Bono is seen here in March 2008 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania with Eusebia Chilipwele, a former nurse and grandmother who volunteers full-time to provide home-based care to adults and orphans with HIV/AIDS. Newscom/FILE

OPRAH: Oprah began the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy Foundation for girls in South Africa in 2007. She is seen here cutting the ribbon at the official opening of the academy in January 2007. Denis Farell/AP

ANGELINA JOLIE: Angelina Jolie is a UN Goodwill Ambassador and has spent time volunteering in Tanzania, Sudan, and Somalia, among many other countries. Here, she is seen in Somalia, speaking with Somali refugees at the Dadaab refugee camp on the Kenya-Somali border during a visit in September 2009. UNHCR/Newscom/FILE

BEN AFFLECK: Ben Affleck began the Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI) in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which aims to provide support to existing organizations that are working to reshape the country. ECI's mission is to promote the hadisi (the Swahili word for “story”) of the people of the eastern Congo. Affleck is seen here filiming in November 2008 at Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda, making a film with Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger that they hope will raise awareness about refugees dealing with the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Newscom/FILE

GEORGE CLOONEY: George Clooney helped start he Not on Our Watch project that focuses on drawing attention to human rights atrocities across the world and offering humanitarian assistance. The project has focused specifically on Darfur in Sudan and Zimbabwe. Clooney meets with Vice President Joe Biden in February 2009 at the White House to discuss relief aid for Darfur. Sharon Farmer/White House/Newscom/FILE

"WE ARE THE WORLD": In 1985, various musicians gathered to record the song "We are the World," written by Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Lionel Ritchie, on behalf of the nonprofit organization USA for Africa. Proceeds from the song were to go to food aid for Africa. A large portion of the proceeds went to Ethiopia, where a famine at that time had killed nearly one million people. Seen here is a songsheet for "We are the World," individually signed by the artists. Newscom/FILE

DANNY GLOVER: On Capitol Hill in May 2007, actor Danny Glover testifies before the Africa and Global Health Subcommittee hearing on "Vulture Funds and the Threat to Debt Relief in Africa: A Call to Action at the G8 and Beyond." Glover is Chariman of the board of TransAfrica Forum and also worked in the early 1990s toward ending apartheid in South Africa. Newscom/FILE

MATT DAMON: In Las Vegas, Nev., Matt Damon participates in the Fourth Annual Ante Up for Africa 2010, a poker tournament at the World Series of Poker. The tournament raised more than $275,000 at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino. Ante Up for Africa is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to raising money and awareness for Africans in need. Damon has also visited Zimbabwe and worked with George Clooney's organization, Not on Our Watch, to help raise awareness of the refugees' plight. Newscom

When Mark Zuckerberg, the 27-year-old co-founder of Facebook, announced last year that he was giving $100-million to set up a foundation to help Newark, N.J., public schools, he became one of the highest profile examples of an increasingly common type of big donor: the Internet geek gone good.